Finally getting around to posting this review from LA Times of Michael Lewis’ daddy memoir. I love Lewis’ style, but in the end felt weirdly depressed reading his cynical take on the basic drudgery of raising kids…

This column for the L.A. Times’ Calendar section began with an assignment to write about “what I wish I knew about dating when I was single.” I dug deep into my own humiliating record of romance and found a curious parallel with an unhealthy obsession of the moment: the Australian self-help DVD “The Secret.”

Is this a participatory feature or an exercise in masochism? Both, it turns out. For one week, I followed the advice of 12 of LA’s growing legion of “lifestyle experts ”—including a life coach, a spiritual advisor, a physical trainer and a personal brander. Ended up a little more confident, a lot more self conscious and very, very tired.

Cover story for Calendar section in which I go head-to-head with a die-hard Westsider over the comparative merits of our ‘hoods. It gets nasty. Generated a ton of response from readers, many of whom didn’t quite get our intended cheekiness.